High speed rail is moving forward in California, but progress is pretty stagnant around the rest of the country. Still, there are a lot of proposals out there, and when placed on one map, they form an impressive rail network. This map was put together by California Rail Map, led by Alfred Twu, which combined existing proposals from high speed rail advocacy groups around the US. Twu described his process for the Guardian:

Instead of detailing construction phases and service speeds, I took a little artistic license and chose colors and linked lines to celebrate America's many distinct but interwoven regional cultures.

The US High Speed Rail Association, a nonprofit trade association, predicts a network similar to this one could be in place by 2030.

Transporation Secretary Ray LaHood has called for a large HSR network, saying it could link 80 percent of Americans within 25 years, for $500 billion.
Based on this map, starting in Los Angeles, a high speed train could get to New York, with stops in Denver and Chicago, in well under 18 hours.

Considering the significant funding and political will any large rail project needs, it's hard to imagine all this will be built. But Robert Cruickshank at the California High Speed Rail Blog argues just visualizing the network is a good thing:

But before the Interstate Highway System was authorized, it had to first be conceptualized on a map. This map gets us closer to the goal of an interstate high speed rail system by showing us what it looks like. And envisioning such a system is the first step toward building it.

Here's a good example. Indianapolis to Omaha. Looked at a flight for 2/21 arbitrarily. $350 and it will take you about 4 hours to get there by plane. The rail can probably get you there in about 3 hours for a hell of a lot less money, and you save about 30-45 minutes of hassle and frustration from the airport (I'm not talking about hassle, by the way, as just being annoying. I'm talking about hassle as in, from a business standpoint, 30-45 minutes is really valuable time an employee can spend comfortable using a computer with wifi).

For short train rides, I see lots of people using it for day trips (e.g. going to a stadium). I also see a LOT of businesspeople using it, as it is cheaper and allows one to be more productive than driving.

#1 You're dreamin if you think any rail could get you from Indianapolis to Omaha in under 3 hours (unless you think that will be a nonstop direct route) You'd likely change trains in Chicago and have AT LEAST a 30 minute stopover time.

#2 Oh great. I am going to invest eleventy bazillion dollars so that the 8 people who travel that route can take a train.

Don't get me wrong I love me some trains... but I have lived in Europe and seen how difficult it is to make cost effective high speed rail work. They are subsidized out the arse and it is still more expensive (and takes longer) than flying for all but a few routes. And those routes are between MAJOR transport hubs like Barcelona and Madrid.

I would like to point out that I am RABIDLY pro-rail. I would love there to be urban rail, high speed cross country rail.. all kinds of rail!!! BUT I understand that just because I want something doesn't mean I should force the rest of you to pay for it. So I won't sit here and make up excuses or convoluted hypotheticals to try to justify spending YOUR money on something I want. I'm happy to let the market decide this.

I like how they envision a direct line to ferry illegal aliens from the Mexican border to Chicago, where they can immediately receive training in how to obtain fraudulent voter registrations and apply for food stamps.

I would like to point out that I am RABIDLY pro-rail. I would love there to be urban rail, high speed cross country rail.. all kinds of rail!!! BUT I understand that just because I want something doesn't mean I should force the rest of you to pay for it. So I won't sit here and make up excuses or convoluted hypotheticals to try to justify spending YOUR money on something I want. I'm happy to let the market decide this.

Direckshun, you see how that works?

I am with you on this. You've made some very good points in this entire discussion. For the record, I am not a rah-rah pro-rail guy. I am for it if the benefits at least can somewhat justify the cost -- I recognize that anytime you throw the word government in there, you add a ton of extra cost to pay for a project that will be conducted very poorly and inefficiently. And I recognize that any HSR supporter can easily budget the ROI numbers.

I find the idea intriguing not for my own use, but because I believe it enables business. Big time. And I believe in ideas that invest in business. Most importantly, I resent the common idea that the only things that matters is revenue and cost. I don't think the ideas in this thread are convoluted. Think they are pretty simple. HSR will dramatically help businesses travel cheaper, more productively, and will enable employees to travel even more often.

I am with you on this. You've made some very good points in this entire discussion. For the record, I am not a rah-rah pro-rail guy. I am for it if the benefits at least can somewhat justify the cost -- I recognize that anytime you throw the word government in there, you add a ton of extra cost to pay for a project that will be conducted very poorly and inefficiently. And I recognize that any HSR supporter can easily budget the ROI numbers.

I find the idea intriguing not for my own use, but because I believe it enables business. Big time. And I believe in ideas that invest in business. Most importantly, I resent the common idea that the only things that matters is revenue and cost. I don't think the ideas in this thread are convoluted. Think they are pretty simple. HSR will dramatically help businesses travel cheaper, more productively, and will enable employees to travel even more often.

Just to be clear, my post was not in ANY WAY meant as a response or attack on you or your points. Sorry if it appeared that way. It was just an attack on agenda driven government spending that disregards the market... which I haven't seen any evidence of you promoting that idea at all.

I agree that it could be a huge boon to business but it's something that is going to need to gain a foothold first and there are only a few routes that will be profitable enough to make that happen. My hope is that we get a few profitable routes going and then the market takes off and it expands from there.

I am 100% behind you on the benefits to business. On medium distance routes train travel is leaps and bounds more efficient, cost effective and business friendly.

I don;t think this is supposed to be one giant federal project but a map showing various projects and how they may someday connect.

For example, in Texas an entirely private company using private funds (with some Federal grants) is hoping to have an HSR between Dallas and Houston finished by 2020. I'd say it's 50/50 right now that they'll get it done. They're doing the environmental impact studies now.

That T-Bone doesn't do shit for Bob Dole until they add the eastern spur to Little Rock. Bob Dole would ride the hell out of that thing back and forth to Austin.

I like how all of the routes go out of their way to avoid West Virginia.

I would like to see that orange one dip down to Washington DC on its way to the northeast. That would keep DC and Baltimore travellers from having to stopover twice on their way to places like Milwaukee, Indianapolis, and San Francisco.

Speaking of long trips, I wonder if they'll have Pullman cars for those cross-country jaunts. Go to sleep in Chicago, wake up in LA, fully rested. They'd cost a king's ransom, but still.

Well theoretically it's good for like KC-STL or STL-CHI. Maybe even KC-CHI depending on the inconveniences of flying (security/baggage check/boarding an hr prior/length of drive to KCI out in BFE) compared to the 2.5hr train ride alone.

That's about it though.

Overall is it cost effective? Absolutely not.

So they won't have security and checks on a train? Any ol terrorist can come and blow it up.

Drive to KCI? That's if you live far from KCI. What about if you live far from the train station?

I don't see how this will really be anything other than a slow version of an airplane.

__________________
Please note that any racist, sexist, or otherwise outrageous opinions expressed in this post have been made for comedic or trolling purposes only and are not the actual opinions of loochy or any affiliated entities. Reader discretion is advised.

Quote:

Originally Posted by big nasty kcnut

yeah i may be a retard but I'll be the one banging your girlfriend when you're out with your friends.

Just to be clear, my post was not in ANY WAY meant as a response or attack on you or your points. Sorry if it appeared that way. It was just an attack on agenda driven government spending that disregards the market... which I haven't seen any evidence of you promoting that idea at all.

I agree that it could be a huge boon to business but it's something that is going to need to gain a foothold first and there are only a few routes that will be profitable enough to make that happen. My hope is that we get a few profitable routes going and then the market takes off and it expands from there.

I am 100% behind you on the benefits to business. On medium distance routes train travel is leaps and bounds more efficient, cost effective and business friendly.

Definitely didn't feel that way. Again, think you made some really good points in the discussion. It's been good discussion.